June 2005 E-Newsletter- San Diego County Public Law Library

New Bankruptcy Law- What Does it Mean to You? If you are a bankruptcy attorney, you probably know all about the new bankruptcy law going into effect on or around October 19th. For the rest of us, here is an explanation and a listing of 25 changes this new law is making. Some say the new law is unfair to those who may need bankruptcy the most- the elderly, children who get child support, veterans, and college students. Others feel that this new law will curb abuse of the bankruptcy laws. Instead of creating more jobs for bankruptcy lawyers, Stephen Elias, bankruptcy attorney and co-author of the Nolo Press book "How to File for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy," says the new law may " drive many attorneys out of the field and force up fees. " This is due to new rules which allow filers to sue bankruptcy attorneys for incorrect paperwork or document preparation. Nolo's web site has an interesting article summarizing the new bankruptcy law. Bottom line? Expect a sharp increase in filings before the new law takes effect in October.

Retiring Director Awarded Prestigious Honor Charles Dyer, the Director of the Law Library, has been named a recipient of the 2005 Marian Gould Gallagher Distinguished Service Award. This award recognizes extended and sustained service to law librarianship, exemplary service to the Association, or contributions to the professional literature. Mr. Dyer is honored for his career as an advocate for county law libraries and for his efforts to make California county law libraries more accessible to the public through innovative education and outreach programs. Mr. Dyer is retiring from the Law Library after 18 years of service.

New "Stand Your Ground" Law in Florida Enacted Recently, Florida passed a law that would make Dirty Harry proud. Called the " Stand Your Ground" law, this law essentially provides blanket immunization in both civil and criminal realms to citizens who use deadly force in self-defense. Formerly, the state law only sanctioned the use of deadly force in self defense if you were threatened in your home. And even if you weren't prosecuted criminally, there were always civil wrongful death suits by the criminal's family. Now, with the passage of the new law, not only can you kill anyone breaking into your home, but you can also use deadly force when away from home, such as in your car. One of the arguments for this new law is the rise in the number of carjackings. However, according to the Insurance Information Institute's report on car theft, western states have more carjackings than southern states. In fact, San Diego is right behind Miami, Florida as one of the top ten cities for auto theft. Will this type of law come to California? Perhaps. Although it seems we have enough shooting on the freeways already.

June 2005 Legal Links Are Pro Se Suits Ridiculous, Per Se? - a humorous article from the Texas Lawyer on some of the um...interesting suits filed by pro se litigants. We call them pro per litigants or self-represented litigants here in California. Marriage Laws of All 50 States- June is supposed to be the month for weddings so it might be handy to know the marriage laws in various states. While this chart doesn't show whether or not you can marry close relatives, it is rather eye-opening to discover which states allow you to marry at 14 years of age! The Temporary Lawyer - If you think your job at the soul-crushing firm is tough, try being a "temporary" or contract attorney! This humorous blawg is a on-line diary of the life and work of a temporary lawyer working in "Losertown, U.S.A."

Family Justice Center Offers Unique Solution for Domestic Violence In many places, victims of domestic violence have to navigate a maze of various agencies to get help. That's no longer true in San Diego. In October 2002, the San Diego City Attorney's office, in conjunction with the local police, the courts, Sharp Hospital medical forensics, counseling/chaplain services and other agencies opened up a comprehensive "one-stop-shop" domestic violence center called the Family Justice Center (FJC) to alleviate the victim's burden of traveling from agency to agency. Now all the necessary legal, law enforcement, medical services, food/shelter/housing agencies and on-site services for children are provided in one single professional office building. Among the forty agencies offering on-site assistance at the Family Justice Center are: Adult Protective Services, Home Start, Kids in Court, San Diego Deaf Mental Health Services, San Diego Police Domestic Violence and Elder Abuse Units, San Diego Volunteer Lawyers, Chaplain Services, Military Advocate Victim Services, Traveler's Aid, the Union of Pan Asian Communities, Teen Services, San Diego State Foundation WIC Program and Sharp Healthcare. The salaried employees from the San Diego District Attorney's office, local police, medical staff and counselors are remunerated by the individual department's budget. The FJC also relies heavily on federal and foundation grant money as well as trained, specialized volunteer services. Unlike other domestic violence centers that might have a sterile atmosphere, the FJC is decorated like a home with a front porch, receiving area and comfortable furniture. The FJC also has on-site play rooms, books, counseling, art programs and overnight camps for children from domestic abuse families. In addition, the FJC keeps track of the victim's progress over a two year period rather than just the immediate explosive conflict phase. Thus, in the short and long term, the FJC offers the domestic violence victim a convenient and coherent path to recovery rather than the chaos of negotiating one's way through a maze of county agencies. The County's comprehensive approach seems to be working. In the first thirteen months since opening, the FJC served over 5,700 victims, filed 11,368 police reports, investigated 22,000 cases and set 712 cases for trial. Visit the FJC at 707 Broadway (in the Washington Mutual building) and see how agency cooperation can benefit an entire community! -- by Ellie Slade, Reference Librarian

State Bar Convention Here September 8th-11th Just a reminder that the California State Bar Association Convention will be held here in San Diego September 8th-11th. The program is available online. Registration is not available online. It must be done via snail mail or fax. Check out some of the Special Events featured this year! Early Bird Registration Deadline -- August 1, 2005 Late Registration Deadline -- August 19, 2005

Reference Question of the Month- An Unregistered Corporation is Suing Me! Q. I am being sued in small claims court by a company that does business in California. However, I have checked and this corporation isn't registered to do business in California. Can this company sue me? A. No....and yes. First, the corporation must be registered with the California Secretary of State in order to do business in California. California Corporations Code section 2105 says "A foreign corporation shall not transact intrastate business without having first obtained from the Secretary of State a certificate of qualification...." If the company doesn't register with the California Secretary of State but still does business in California, then Corporations Code section 2203 kicks in. This section says that until a foreign corporation (i.e. non-California based) files the appropriate paperwork and pays the correct fees (including a penalty of $250), they cannot sue in California. However, the corporation can be sued by someone in California. Further, the corporation is subject to "a penalty of twenty dollars ($20) for each day that unauthorized intrastate business is transacted...." Basically, if the company isn't going to respect the laws of the state regarding licensing, then the state isn't going to extend the company the courtesy of the use of its legal system. However, these problems are easily correctible for the foreign corporation by filing the appropriate documents and paying the fees. If the company corrects the problems and properly registers with the California Secretary of State, then it will be able to sue in California courts. As to whether it can sue you specifically, we can't say as we can't give legal advice. Best of luck!

We hope you've enjoyed our newsletter. We're hard at work on the next edition. In the meantime, please visit us online at: http://www.sdcpll.org/. And come see us in person at one of our locations. For locations and hours please click here: http://www.sdcpll.org/location.htm. For more information contact: Amy Hale-Janeke, Reference Librarian/ Head of Media Relations, at ahale@sdcll.org.